While I personally had no problems with Magic Jack my son was not so lucky. Neither of us were charged during our free trial period, but my son continues to experience errors defined as “broken storage.” Since my device performs without errors on his computer I suspect his device is bad.

On the legal side of Magic Jack we give you this report:

VoIP gizmo/service provider MagicJack has reached a settlement with Florida’s attorney general (AG) over charges the Palm Beach County company charged customers for long distance phone service during what was advertised as a free 30-day trial. The company, without any admission it has violated the law, has agreed to make tech support changes and reimburse the state $125,000 for the costs of the investigation.

The Florida AG began investigating last July after receiving lots of complaints from consumers about the product. An investigation also found that the MagicJack product had limitations that were not properly disclosed, and the company didn’t have enough customer service people to deal with consumer complaints. The company has “fully resolved” more than 500 customer complaints, according to press reports on the matter.

As a part of the settlement, MagicJack has agreed to implement new practices to assist customers, including a guarantee that all inquiries will be responded to within 24 business hours and a disclaimer on its website clarifying the requirements to participate in a free trial offer.